Tag Archives: life

The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few….

18 Sunday Jun 2017

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A crowd of people had gathered around Christ and he had compassion for them.  What was it he felt…..He was moved because they were like sheep without a shepherd.  Many of the first century Jews were lost, harassed, troubled and vulnerable.  Life was hard.  Few could read or write.  Those in leadership positions in the Jewish establishment did not nourish their spirit, they taught them rituals, the law and public acts of piety.  All of those are hollow in and of themselves.

It is the spirit that brings life.  It is the very presence and the spirit of our God that we experience when we celebrate communion, baptism and sacraments of the church.  It is the spirit that brings people together to worship.  It is the spirit that brings life.

People were drawn to Christ because he was speaking truth into their lives, he was lifting their spirit and easing their burden.  After observing the crowd and feeling their pain he says, “The harvest in plentiful, but the laborers are few.  Ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”

One doesn’t have to read or quote from the bible to labor effectively.  One only needs to be intentional about their faith and allow themselves to be led in the direction that God would take them.  There is work to be done.  We are called to do it.  It will require commitment, it will require time and it will require listening to what God has been speaking to each of us and stepping out in faith.

Pastor Shawn – Seymour UMC

Author of Incomplete

shawnlarueorg.wordpress.com

Love Can – #Inspirational #Poetry

12 Monday Jun 2017

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Because I Love

Love Can Touch the Heart of the Soul,

Love Can Create a Vision of Unity,

Love Can Break down Boundaries,

If You Open Your Heart and Your Spirit to it’s Purity.

Love Can Dance on the Wings of the Wind,

Love Can Smile at the Barred, Closed Door,

Love Can Give All, Asking Nothing in Return,

Love Can Face Doubt, Ever True, Ever Sure.

Love Can Bring Joy and Peace Beyond Measure,

But Only When Love is Invited Within,

Love Can Be a Blessing More Precious than Treasure.

Only When Love is Allowed to Begin.

~Morgan~

Let the one without sin throw the first stone….

04 Sunday Jun 2017

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“Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.”  Christ’s statement to the scribes and Pharisees that presented an anonymous female adulteress before him in the temple.
The guilt and shame this woman must have felt, the anxiety she must have experienced.  She was probably well aware of the penalty for adultery – death by stoning.  A public and barbaric display to make an example out of the sinner.
Christ was being tested to see if he would uphold the law and condemn the woman.  Christ advocated for the truth and challenged those that judged her to look at the condition of their hearts, souls and the sin that existed in their own lives.
He did not pass judgment on her, as easy and common as that is today.  It is far easier to judge and place distance between ourselves and those whose appearance, clothes, homes, income level and tattoos we don’t like and don’t even begin to understand.
It requires that precious resource of time that we guard with an iron grip and are far too many times selfish with.  What do people want as much as anything in this life…….to be accepted for who and what they are in spite of their shortcomings.
Pastor Shawn, Seymour UMC
Author of Incomplete
shawnlarueorg.wordpress.com

Abide in me.

29 Monday May 2017

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Christ is the true vine.  God the Father is the vinedresser.  Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear even more fruit.  Abide in me and I will abide in you.  Those that abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing.
Christ is the source of life, the source of eternal life, the source of the spirit.  That spirit tells us that we are far more than flesh and blood.  It tells us that we are beautifully and wonderfully made.  It gnaws within us, telling us to in things of eternity.
The battle within our mind and on the spiritual battlefield is waged every day.  We make choices every day.  To choose things of earth or eternity and convenience or Christ.  It is only when we abide in Christ that the battle is won.
Pastor Shawn, Seymour UMC
Author of Incomplete
shawnlarueorg.wordpress.com

Seeds – #DailyHaikuChallenge

28 Sunday May 2017

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Seeds of Renewal

Life drifting upon the breeze

Mystery Unfolds

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To take part in the Daily Haiku Challenge see The Original Post from Day One

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Day 217 / 365

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~Morgan~
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Beautiful photograph found on Pinterest.  Credit Gratefully Acknowledged to the Original Photographer.  ~Thank You~

The work of the Holy Spirit….

21 Sunday May 2017

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“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.  And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever.  This is the spirit of truth.”  This passage is from the 14th chapter of John.  Christ is speaking of the Holy Spirit.

It is the Holy Spirit that rattles the sabre within our soul.  It is the Holy Spirit that leads people to faith.  It is the Holy Spirit that brings people to a community of faith and leads them to be baptized, join the church, lead bible studies and read to the children at the school.
God still speaks, Christ still reveals, the Holy Spirit still moves people to step out of their comfort zone and leads them to deeper levels of faith.  Speaking to us through this life that is oftentimes difficult, confusing, hard and beyond understanding at times.
It is the work of our God and of the Holy Spirit that beckons us to live intentional lives of faith.
Pastor Shawn, Seymour UMC
Author of Incomplete
shawnlarueorg.wordpress.com

Wall of Memory – #DailyHaikuChallenge

17 Wednesday May 2017

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Wall of Memory

Leading Beyond the borders

Into what May Be

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To take part in the Daily Haiku Challenge see The Original Post from Day One

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Day 206 / 365

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~Morgan~
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Beautiful Photograph found on Pinterest.  Credit Gratefully Acknowledged to the original photographer.  Thank You

Breath of Heaven – #poetry

15 Monday May 2017

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Breath of Heaven

Breath of Heaven

Great Light in the Dark

Reaching for the emptiness within

Whispering Mystery where All Life Begins

Breathe in Spectral Quiet

Gently

Guide my Path in Silent Tones

Like Drops of Water upon Vast Stepping Stones

Lead me, Oh Breath that Eternally Glows

Direct my Wandering to the Place where Life Flows.

~Morgan~
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Beautiful Photograph found at: 24.media.tumblr.com

Vivid Life – #DailyHaikuChallenge

15 Monday May 2017

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Vivid Life Blooming

Amid storms of Challenges

Bright blushes Smiling

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To take part in the Daily Haiku Challenge see The Original Post from Day One

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Day 204 / 365

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~Morgan~
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Beautiful Photograph found on Pinterest.  Credit Gratefully Acknowledged to the original photographer.  Thank You

Illusions – #Poetry of #Spirituality

08 Monday May 2017

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Illusions 1
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Sacred

Intoxicatingly Simple

Yet Beguilingly

Beguiling

Beyond all Mortal ken

Yet Transitory

Immortal and Timeless

Yet Stationary

Illusions 2

Limitless

Yet Insubstantial

Boundless Beauty

Profoundly

Profound

Shaking my Illusions

To the Ground

Illusions 3

All that I Know

Yet Nothing I Understand

Illusions Grasped

By my Unfeeling Hands

Celestial Wonder

Yet Infinitesimally Small

Illusions

Perceptions

All in All.

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~Morgan~
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Beautiful Photographs found on Pinterest via lori-rocks.tumblr.com, lostateminor.com and Michelle Fennel Photography

I’ve always struggled with acceptance……

07 Sunday May 2017

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I’ve always struggled with acceptance.  I’m afraid I always will.  I think one of the greatest fears humans experience is the fear and painful sting of rejection.  It keeps many from stepping out of their comfort zone.  It paralyzes us with fear.

Those that step into leadership positions, either by a calling or through their own ambition, immediately become targets for their own shortcomings and those of whatever it is they are leading.

The church is one place where acceptance should be found.  Unfortunately, that doesn’t always happen.  Many have walked away hurt, confused and bitter because they have been looked down upon or treated as inferior.

What a terrible thing it is not to be accepted for who you are, regardless of how others think.  It is okay to disagree, it is not okay to judge, dismiss or take humanity from those that we disagree with.

Not being accepted is hurtful and causes anxiety.  Having said all that, true acceptance can only be found in God and his grace.  There are areas within our souls that cannot be touched or healed by others.  That healing and acceptance can only come from our triune God.

It is frustrating and not fair to ask of others only what God can provide.  Even having been a pastor for almost two years I still struggle with this.

Shawn LaRue

shawnlarueorg@wordpress.com

Author of Incomplete

Eyes to see….

06 Saturday May 2017

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Two of Christ’s followers were walking to Emmaus.  They were discussing all that had happened when Christ began walking with them, but their eyes were kept from recognizing him.  Being blind to God’s presence happened in biblical times and still does today.  Mary Magdalene didn’t recognize him standing before her in the garden tomb and Cleopas and his friend don’t recognize him when he is walking alongside.
It was only when Christ opened their eyes that they saw him.  How blind we can be at times.  Blind to the pain and suffering of others, blind to our own actions and how they impact others.  We need to ask God for eyes to see and for his presence to soften hard hearts.
Pastor Shawn – Seymour Methodist Church, Seymour, IA
Author of Incomplete

A Rose by Any Other Name

04 Thursday May 2017

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A Rose by any other name

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A Rose by any other Name
Is not always the Same,
Doesn’t play the same Games;
Flowers,
By the Hours;
Shimmers
In the Glimmers;
Touches the Heart
From the Very Start;
Smiles,
Beguiles,
And Rarely Riles,
Unintentionally,
While Setting the Imagination
Free.

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~Morgan~
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Beautiful Original Photography by Paul Militaru found at: http://photopaulm.com

Quest – #Metaphysical #Poetry

24 Monday Apr 2017

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Time is a Coalescence
Of All that Once was Dreamed,
Pulling at Reality and
All that Might Have Been.

Time is Unification of
All that Can Be Envisioned,
All that Might be Conjured and
Most of what should be shunned.

Each Emotion, whether Bitter or Sweet,
Turning through the Chasm,
Every Thought, Mute or Complete,
Like Shifting, Ghostly Phantasm.

Marching in Eternal Progression
Toward All that Yet May Be,
Ever Granting Bold Concession
In the Quest for Harmony.

~Morgan~
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Beautiful Image found at: realityescaped.tumblr.com

For this reason…

23 Sunday Apr 2017

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Ephesians 3:14-20

“For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth takes its name.  I pray that, according to the riches of his glory, he may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love. 

I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.  Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever.  Amen.”

 For this reason.  For this reason… and what reason is that?  Paul had just written that he was the very least of all the saints and it was God’s grace that was granted to him to preach the boundless riches of Christ. 

For and because of God’s grace, it is that for that reason that Paul’s knees bow before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth takes its name.  God’s grace is the reason.

Salvation by grace through faith.  This unlimited treasure of grace.  Let me ask you this question, do you allow yourself to be full open to receive grace?  Are you able to fully receive it and extend it to others?

I am guilty of this.  I am guilty of not taking the time to reflect on all that God has done for me and taking many times for granted.  I am guilty of being closed off to grace at times and of trying to do something to earn it.

Maybe you have done the same.  Gone through a time of spiritual dryness or struggle.  Trying to balance the demands of ministry, family, your own spiritual growth and for those of us that are bi-vocational, a full-time job as well.  Too many things to get done, allowing little time to reflect on God’s work in our own lives.

 Paul was a man that suffered many hardships for the sake of the gospel.  He became a servant according to the gift of God’s grace.  As we all know Paul wasn’t always a servant for Christ.  He persecuted Christians and tried to extinguish the early church.  God’s redeeming work and grace took a man that killed Christians and made him a man that would help save them. 

Paul is the most prolific writer in the New Testament.  If grace can change a heart that hard, what can it do for each of us?  What each one of us are capable of.  For this reason, for the saving grace of our God, my knees bow before the Father.

Pastor Shawn LaRue

Author of Incomplete

incompletedevotional.com